Prior practices in the garment and fabric working industries have involved basting of two portions of a fabric material together by means of staples formed of a fine, soft material. The staples are usually applied by pneumatic stapling guns which are mounted on a work surface in a fashion which allows only a restricted degree of movement of the guns. Such prior art stapling guns are typically mounted such that only movement toward and away from an operator of the guns has been permitted. Thus, variation in the size and design of the work piece which could be staple basted at a given work station has been severely limited. Generally, prior art staple basting guns have been useful for only one operation without substantial structural modification to the work table on which the guns are mounted.
The present invention provides a variable work station for use with stapling guns of conventional design. According to the present invention, the stapling guns are mountable on the work surface of the present work station in a fashion which allows lateral displacement of the guns over the surface thereof, i.e., displacement within the lateral field of view relative to the operator. Further, the present invention retains the ability to displace the stapling guns toward and away from an operator thereof. The stapling guns can also be pivoted about their mountings according to the present invention to provide additional versatility. The different degrees of freedom provided to the stapling guns by the mounting mechanisms comprising the present work station provides a versatility which allows multiple basting operations of virtually any type to be performed with only one work station having multiple stapling guns mounted thereon.
In essence, the present work station comprises a work table having a plurality of removable blocks forming at least a portion of the work surface area of the table. The blocks are each removable and replaceable with mount members which each mount a stapling gun thereon. Thus, the stapling guns can be selectively located over the surface of the work table at those locations where the removable blocks are positioned. Thus, stapling operations can occur over the full area occupied by the blocks by removal of the block and replacement thereof with the staple guns. The work table can then be easily and rapidly arranged in a desired manner to fit the dimensions of a work piece on which basting operations are to be performed.
It is therefore an oject of the invention to provide a variable work station having a work surface mounting stapling guns thereon at selected locations on the work surface.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a variable work station mounting stapling guns on a work surface thereof whereby the guns can be positioned laterally relative to an operator as well as toward and away from the operator.
It is also an object of the invention to provide means for selectively controlling the operation of the stapling guns on the present work station.
Further objects and advantages of the invention will become more readily apparent in light of the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the invention.